It's amazing to me that The Simpsons is now in it's 30th Season. I promise not to ramble on about any favorite moments over the years, but it's hard to not get a big nostalgic. At the same time, I will admit that I have been a bit out of touch in these more recent seasons. The show has not been appoinment viewing for me like it had been in the past. Maybe it was the fact that I was missing the way the show used to be written, or the fact that I felt like I wasn't really getting anything new. Even I realize that kind of contradicts itself, but that was the internal struggle I seemed to have every week with the show. For old time's sake, I decided to check out the Season 30 premiere to see where I stand.
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE SEASON 30 PREMIERE OF THE SIMPSONS, "BART'S NOT DEAD"!
The show starts off with Bart deciding to be very un-Bart-like by not taking a dare to spare his sister's feelings. You can kind of see where this is going, as Bart takes the next chance to make up for that and does something very stupid. When he's in the hospital, he tells his mother a lie so he doesn't get in trouble. Bart says that he talked to God, and that's what sets the stage for the rest of the episode. Religious humor is something that The Simpsons has not been shy about tackling in the past, and this episode certainly did not disappoint. While not all of the jokes landed, and the predictability of bringing Flanders into the episode, I had some legitimately laugh out loud moments. Homer being utterly stupid at times just never seems to get old for me, and that it something I was happy to see more and more of in this episode. Even being a huge DC fan didn't keep me from getting a laugh out of the jab at the DCEU. The Gal Gadot cameo was quick, but effective, especially at the very end of the episode where I think I got the biggest laugh.
I was also very happy about the interactions between Bart and Lisa during the episode, with Lisa giving Bart those subtle pushes over the edge to make him crack. I think that is a relationship that they don't take advantage of enough on the show anymore. It's hard not to focus on Homer, but the Bart/Lisa dynamic has always done a great job bringing real brother/sister moments to life with a bit of a twist. There was a moment near the end of the episode where Lisa comforts Bart after everything has gone wrong, and it may have been one of the best parts of the entire episode. It's a nice reminder that the show can also have some real moments, but still maintain the humor that put the show on in the map.
Am I ready to make sure that I am home at 8pm every Sunday night (or whenever football is over) to make sure I see new episodes of The Simpsons? I don't think that's a level of commitment I am ready to make, especially with The CW line-up starting up next week. Still, this premiere episode definitely won me over and I felt that conflict that I mentioned before starting to fade. Much like I do with new shows, I think I'll start over and give The Simpsons a few more episodes to see how things go. After decades of being entertained by these characters, I think I owe them at least that. I'm really hoping that the love for the show that I had in the early years can return in this landmark season.
(Photo Credit: © 2018 TCFFC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)